OK, so they aren’t old computer related except that computers built into iPods and the like now have replaced them. But if you’re an old fart like your Uncle Dave, then you’ll remember a number of the names of the companies in this guy’s collection and may have had at least one of them.
When Theo Braakman was 12 years old, he got a turntable “just to demolish,” but he was so fascinated by the machine’s inner workings he spared the turntable’s life. He put a mirror under it to get a better view of the automatic record changing mechanism’s gears, belts, and levers that lifted the tonearm and the end of a record side, moved the arm to the rest position, dropped another record to play, and gently lowered the “needle” into the grooves. Braakman played records on that first turntable until he fully understood how the mechanism worked. But that just led to more turntables!
Theo and his wife recently celebrated their 25th anniversary. Braakman told me his wife had one request when they first got married: she wanted him to limit his collecting habit to only one kind of collectible, and the choices were typewriters, tape recorders, or turntables. Braakman now has more than 230 turntables, and lives in the Netherlands.
Dad’s old turntable works powered many tinkertoy projects. Son of a mechanical engineer…
What an amazing group of photos! Some even had photos of the shipping box.
You can find anything on the internet now.
A what mate? Gram-a-phone?
I suppose it might have a “wireless” in it also.
🙂
I like the “Telefunken Jubilate”. Sounds like a band name or at least an album name for some funky gospel group.
Still sounds better than CDs.
Still have my AR manual turntable. Equipped with a Shure V15 Type 2 cartridge. Still play some of my 2,500+ LP collection.
Cool!
Cool collection. Lots of tables that you didn’t see here in the USA much. But I note that he doesn’t seem to have anything post about 1965 when things got much better on the technical end of things.
I have and use weekly a Dual CS5000 from 1983 that still works flawlessly. The only things changed was the drive belt (2 times, probably didn’t really need it) and the cartridge and styli several times as I went for upgrades/wear replacement. Oh, and in addition to 33&1/3 and 45, it plays 78s.
Although a large portion of my LP collection has been duplicated with CDs, much hasn’t. And sometimes, the LP just sounds better and is actually easier to deal with. I have had a number of early CDs that just stopped working. No apparent visible flaws, just won’t play. But I have a 1904 one sided 78 that plays just fine.
Just keep the records clean, the stylus clean and aligned and the stylus force adjusted properly.
Remember? Vinyl is back with a vengeance! Conan O’Brien announced today that he has a new recordings out – on 180 gram vinyl. Listening to MP3 is like looking at a work of art through a screen. There is a $12,000 turntable that doesn’t use a needle, it tracks with 2 laser beams. Look at the album prices on eBay.
#5 – Not all CD’s suck, just the ones with Microsoft software on them.
Did I mention that Microsoft sucks? 🙂
Proud owner of a Dual 1229 that works perfectly, sounds great and dresses up the room with its wood cabinet.
I still keep a very expensive turntable I bought and used about 3 times. Seems vinyl disappeared about the same time I bought it, or my desire to play records crashed. Same with a Sony DAT recorder. Used it about 2 months before switching to my computer.
Two prime examples of high tech bought at the very end of its usefulness.
Ah, the good old days. How I pine for that click, pop, and hiss. Or that horrible scratch that your roommate swears was already on the album before he borrowed it.
The bass often bumped the needle. Say that nowadays and you’ll get arrested.
I remember a friend that playing a record was a ritual. He put on white gloves and wiped the record with some solution and cloth. After he placed it on the turntable he had this anti-static gun thing he would shoot it with. Then he would pull an index card and set this huge equalizer. Then he would announce he was turning on the amp, like you needed radiation protection. No talking while the music played. It was rather tedious, and he insisted you listen to every record he bought. He also wanted everyone high to experience it, and since he was buying, that’s why I put up with the BS.